Band of Brothers
by Nekoyaz
Summary: It was a normal night when the world went to hell. Lovino, Ludwig, and Alfred must fight for survival against even their own loved ones. How will this unlikely trio survive after the outbreak. Rating for language and gore. May change later.
1. Chapter 1

Band of Brothers

Discaimer: Don't own hetalia nor its characters

It was a warm and sunny afternoon. There was quiet for once. All the Frat boys next door were either in class or asleep. After 3 exhausting hours of Chem lab, it was the perfect time to take a nap. Stupid liberal arts school making me take stupid electives. I would need that elective if I was changing my major to Agriculture next semester. But for now I was an Art major so the science made no sense.

I was just starting to dose off when I glanced at the clock so I would later be able to tell how long I'd slept. It was five. Feli should be home by now. He was probably with his fucking boyfriend. Not that they were fucking. I hoped to God they weren't fucking. Oh you know what I mean. Ugh, they were probably being gross. That potato with eyes was probably corrupting my baby brother. Should I go find him? Nah. I wouldn't want to walk in on something completely disgusting. So I stayed on the couch and let that train of thought leave me. Slumber called.

The sound of moaning woke me. What the fuck? I sat up on the couch as I heard a quiet thump. It was coming from the kitchen. I grabbed the candy bowl off the coffee table and crept my way over to the kitchen. I peered around the corner with the hard glass bowl, ready to knock someone lights out, but it was Feli. He was on his hands and knees.

"What the hell are you doing?" I asked as I sat the bowl down to pull him up.

"I don't feel so good." He moaned.

He was warm and looked pale. His eyes lacked their usual luster and showed clear exhaustion. He was pouring sweat, making his skin feel clammy. His auburn hair clung to his face. He'd either caught a bug from playing somewhere stupid or those German bastards had finally poisoned him. I helped him down the hall and into bed, removing his shoes before pulling the covers over him.

I wished him good night and went back to the kitchen to start making a get better kit. He'd need soup. So I started gathering the things to make tomato soup, grandpa's recipe. I'd need to go to the store and get more juice. That swallow of orange juice in the fridge wasn't going to cut it. I also put the lunch box ice packs in the fridge. Who knows, he might need them for the fever. I wasn't sure what medication was left in the cabinet. It'd been a while since either of us were sick. I checked the time. Nine. Yeah that one store was open. I should get that shit before they closed. The soup could wait. I left Feli a note and left for the gas station up the street. No point in wasting gas. I wouldn't have as nice a selection of juice or meds, but the grocery store was closed so it was better than going all the way across town to fucking Walmart.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

"Your Mother was a hamster and your Father smelled of Elderberries!" I yelled the old movie reference into the mike.

I heard that little 12 year old noob curse made up swears and a chuckle from Arthur. Kiku said nothing as he surprise attacked me, killing my avatar.

"What the heckie!?" I shouted in outrage.

His ass was grass. I was taking him down. Nobody defeats Captain Eagle and gets away with it. I selected a less powerful semiautomatic gun. Kiku may have been hacking like a mofo but my trigger finger was faster than any gun he could hack. I made easy work of Peter, getting him out of the running so he wouldn't somehow aid Kiku. I heard angry yelling and a crash followed by Arthur loudly scolding his little brother with his mike still in, so every word was heard by the entire party. The little brat must have thrown a tantrum lol.

I hoped that Kiku was distracted by Arthur's hilarious scolding while I searched for him. There! He was creeping around a burned out building. I was about to start firing when I was taken out.

"What! Who!?" I heard female chuckling. "Mei!" I'd forgotten she was still playing. She'd been so quiet.

Of course she'd help her cousin out. I now had to get revenge twice over. And I no longer had Arthur's silly sibling squabble to aid me. Mei was a tricky one. She liked to hide among buildings or trees and then snipe your ass. I preferred the Leroy Jenkins tactic with my semi. Why hide unless you were afraid.

"Get your coward a-tail out here!" Arthur got mad when we cussed around his bro. "I'm gonna take you both out. You will rue this day! Rue it!"

I could hear more laughter. I was picking new armor when I heard the front door slam followed by a thump.

"Mattie?"

I pushed my wheeled desk chair over to the hall to peer at the front door. Mattie was crumbled on the floor in a heap. He looked like he'd taken a face plant.

"Hey guys, I need to stop. Something's wrong with Mattie."

I got a chorus of concerns before I removed my headpiece and went to go check on him. Was he drunk maybe? I rolled him over to check. No smell of alcohol but he did smell of vomit. Ew. He was all sticky and sweaty and there looked like BLOOD on his shirt. What the fUCK!?

"Mattie. Wake up. I need you to tell me what happened."

His eyes fluttered open and rolled into place from where he had fainted. Now that I was touching him, he felt hot. His glasses were cracked.

"The car. . . man ran in front. . .Gil." Mathew's eyes closed again.

"Mattie!" I shook him.

He was still breathing but he appeared unconscious. I grabbed the headset and in a panicked voice explained what happened.

"You need to call for an ambulance right now." Kiku, ever the level headed, advised.

"Do you think he was in a car accident? You need to call and see if Gilbert is okay after you ring for the ambulance. Bloody hell. I can't believe this. Calm down Alfred. Calm down." Arthur sounded just as upset as me.

"You need to check and see if your brother is bleeding out anywhere and apply pressure. If he's not bleeding too badly, elevate his legs, he may be in shock. That's what google says anyway." Kiku calmly said.

"Al why are you still talking to us? Go! Let us know what happened okay?" Mei finally spoke up.

I called dispatch and told them what I knew and my suspicions. I asked them to keep their eyes out for a wreck on the way over. I then called Gilberts cell but it went straight to voice mail. Omg omg omg. I searched Mattie over for wounds but all I found was a sick cut on his arm that looked strangely like teeth marks. He wasn't bleeding too badly from it, so I left it alone for the paramedics to deal with. They probably had anti rabies and infection stuff. I next called Gilbert's brother's phone. It took two rings before he answered with a sleepy voice.

"Hello?"

"Ohmigod. Is Gilbert there?"

"Nnn. Let me go look. I was sleeping, Alfred. Why didn't you just call him? No. He's not back yet. Strange."

"Mattie's all beat up and there's blood. I think there was an accident! He's passed out on the floor he said something about the car and Gilbert. Oh my God. You need to go look for him. I've already called 9-1-1."

"What! Scheisse. Thank you for calling. I'm getting dressed now. Vati?" I heard knocking. Oh yeah they still lived with their Dad. I heard rapid German before Ludwig got back to me "Gilbert was taking Mathew and Feliciano home. Did he say anything about Feli?"

"No. Just about Gilbert and the car. And something about a man jumping in front of the car I think. I can't get him to wake up to tell me more, I'm sorry."

After I got off the phone, I ran and got some pillows off the couch and propped Mattie's legs up. All I could do now was wait.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

That was perhaps the worst way to wake up possible. And there had been a few really bad times, including that time Gilbert had been brought home by the police when he was in high school. I consoled Vati enough to let me go alone. I knew he would stay by the phone the entire time.

I grabbed a flashlight and the keys to Vati's car since mine was now probably totaled, best to not think about that now. I drove the way to Feli's house first. There was nothing. When I arrived at Feli's house, I couldn't help but stop to check on him to see if he made it home. After knocking on the door for 5 minutes, I grew very concerned. Why wasn't anyone answering? Feli couldn't have been in that accident, if there even was an accident, could he? Gilbert must have made it closer to Mathew's house for Mathew to have made it home after being injured. Unless he was going to drop off Mathew first. That's strange usually he hangs out for a bit before coming home. Why would he drop off Mathew first? All these thoughts filtered through my head as I went back to the car and started up the road.

I saw a familiar form walking up the street with a bag of groceries. Feli?! I stopped next to them and rolled down the window.

"What the fuck are you doing here."

Definitely not Feli.

"Lovino, Alfred told me Gilbert got in a wreck. I was coming to see if Feli made it home safely."

"Yeah, but he's sick. He almost threw up on me."

"Sick? He wasn't sick when they left our house."

"It was probably your terrible cooking that did him in, bastard."

"My cooking is not terrible and anyways Feli made pasta. Was he hurt anywhere?"

"No, he just looked like he had a bug or something. You think my brother was in a wreck? He would have said som-wait no we're talking about Feli here. Fuck! That idiot." Lovino ran his fingers through his hair in frustration.

"Is he okay though?" I asked again.

"Yeah. He was loopy, but he's fine. I got him to bed and I was about to make him some soup before you showed up. He doesn't look like he was in an accident. I mean I didn't check, but I didn't see any blood."

"It sounds like he may have hit his head. You should take him to the hospital. I'm going to look for Gilbert. Call me if anything happens and I'll let you know later what I find."

"Whatever." Lovino started walking away but stopped after a few steps. "Do you need someone to go with you in case, you know?"

The thought never occurred to me that my brother might be dead. Why would Feli and Mathew abandon him if he'd died? Mathew was all banged up and Feli might have a head injury. Maybe they weren't in their right minds. Maybe-no. Gilbert was probably fine. But what if?

"I might."

Lovino sighed and walked around to the passenger side of the car. He sat the groceries at his feet as he climbed in. After he was securely buckled, I started down the road. Dozens of possible explanations for what happened filtered through my mind.

AN: The idea for this woke me up out of dead sleep and I wrote this at like 1 am and edited it later. I saw fanart a few weeks back with these three and I thought they would make an unlikely and interesting trio. I have like two other fanfics I should be working on but whatever. I don't really write in first person and I don't know why I started writing this one that way. My default is third person so I hope this looks okay.


	2. Chapter 2

Band of Brothers ch. 2

Disclaimer: Me no hetalia

It was awkward and quiet. Ludwig was probably internally freaking out. I know I would be if it were my brother. It was really hard to tell because the asshole was such an emotionless wall. It was hard to figure out how someone as open and free with his emotions as my brother could ever date someone like this. I really did hope Gilbert was okay. He was an annoying bastard but I didn't hate the guy.

We were only about a mile to Mathew's house when we saw the lights. An ambulance zoomed by followed by a cop car. Was Matthew hurt that badly? I really hoped that idiot Alfred had just panicked. Mathew was such a nice guy. What he saw in potato bastard number 2 was just as much a mystery as my brother's dating choices. A few blocks from Mathew and Alfred's house, the cop turned and went down a side road.

"Where are they going?" I asked.

"My brother perhaps." Ludwig answered tightly.

How he wasn't flipping shit, I'd never know. If Feli had been all banged up I would have lost my damn mind. Speaking of which, I hope this wouldn't take long. I did need to get back and make sure he didn't lapse into a coma or something. His pupils hadn't been wonky or anything, so hopefully it wasn't a concussion.

Ludwig turned down the road the cop had gone down and followed. The cop came to the edge of a patch of trees and climbed out. There was another officer already there. When we got closer, we could see a trail through the underbrush and Ludwig's car midway up in a tree. How the fuck di-before I could finish that thought, Ludwig had leapt from the driver's seat after causing the car to make a grind sound from not being stopped when he shifted gears.

0ooo0o0o0o0o0o0o

Please be okay. Please be okay. Damn it my car. Please be okay. The police officer tried to stop me, but I ran past her. The car was about chest level, so I pulled myself up with one arm by one of the few remaining branches. The door was wide open so there was no need for me to open it. The sight that greeted me almost made me lose my stomach. A headless male body slumped across the front seat. Blood stained the seat black in the dark. I could feel tears prick at my eyes. But then I remembered. Gilbert had been wearing that obnoxious neon meme shirt. This person was wearing a polo. Where was Gilbert? Where was Gilbert! From my positon I tried to peer into the back seat but I couldn't hold onto the branch any longer. I dropped to the ground with images of the maimed body still flashing through my head.

The police officer caught up to me and demanded to know why I hadn't listened.

"Officer, this is my car. My brother was driving. I had to know. I had to see i-" I couldn't finish. That could have been Gilbert. If Gilbert wasn't in the car perhaps he'd been thrown.

"Can you identify the body for us?" She asked.

"No, I don't know who that is." That was another thing. Who was that and why were they in my car.

"Then I'm going to have to ask you to get back. We've got someone coming to pull the car out. This is a crime scene, we don't need you ruining the evidence."

A crime scene?! It wasn't just a car crash?

"What do you mean? The car-"

"I can't disclose much sir, but we believe there was foul play. There's no way he could have been decapitated like that by a branch through the windshield."

What the hell was going on? I was confused and I felt a bit sick. I still didn't know how Gilbert was or where he was. The police probably wouldn't let me search the forest for him. He could be laying under a tree bleeding out right now.

"Can I get your name and number? We'll call you if we find anything. You may get access to your vehicle later. We'll let you know. Please let us know if you see your brother."

Lovino said nothing as we walked back to the car. I knew he'd heard most of the conversation. As I climbed into Vati's car, I could hear a firetruck coming.

"Now what?" Lovino finally asked.

"I guess we go back to your house. I'm sure you want to check on Feli."

"You aren't even going to go look for him?"

"What?"

"Your brother, you idiot. I would never stop looking until I found my brother. I can get home some other way. You should at least keep looking. They say that after the first 24 hours a missing person's chance drop by a lot. Now turn the fuck around go look for the bastard."

"But the police-"

"Fuck the police. We'll start over near Alfred's."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

The EMTs told me that he only had the bite but from how he was acting or well not acting, they believed he had internal injuries. So they loaded him up in the ambulance anyway. I climbed up onto the bench next to him since they didn't need to do much besides clean his wound and keep tabs on his vitals. The ride to the hospital was super boring. All I could do was sit in silence and stare at Mattie and worry. I tried to call Arthur or Kiku but one of the EMTs said no phone use because it might interfere with some gizmos I can't remember exactly what they said. I wondered if Ludwig found Gilbert. I hoped he wasn't hurt real bad. He'd probably be taken to the same hospital, so I'd try to visit him later. I wouldn't even think of the possibility that he was dead. As Gilbert always said it was impossible to kill awesome.

When we got there, they took Mattie right back for xrays and what not. I was directed to the lady at the desk who gave me a clipboard of crap to fill out. Ugh. I didn't even know half of this stuff. Mattie was the one who took care of our insurance stuff. I did have the insurance card Mattie gave me forever ago in my wallet. I filled out what I could but there was a lot left blank. I needed an adultier adult. Our mom had passed a few years ago. And by mom, I mean grandmother. Our real mom had run off when we were babies and we never knew our dad. I felt so alone. Mattie truly was my only family left. I guess now was as good a time as any to call my friends. I had nothing better to do other than waiting.


	3. Chapter 3

Band of Brothers ch. 3

Disclaimer: Hetalia is no mine

After over 2 hours of searching, we'd come up with nothing. I'd actually stuck around because I wanted to know what happened. There was definitely more than those fucking cops were telling us. Now we were back at my house. Ludwig called his father and told him what was what and they agreed to go looking some more in the morning. If Gilbert was a suspect, the police would probably be looking the rest of the night already. I also heard talk of lawyers so I tuned out. They were too creepily logical about this. Fuck that.

"Can I come in and see Feli?" Ludwig asked.

"Yeah but only for like 2 seconds. It's late."

I remembered my groceries when I was climbing out and brought them with me inside. Ludwig went straight to Feli's room while I put everything away. This stuff was probably useless if he had a concussion or some shit. When I went back there to see Feli, Ludwig was stroking his hair and being fucking gay.

"Save your gay shit for when Feli is awake to appreciate it." That caused Ludwig to stop and stand.

"He feels warm. We should wake him up and take him to the hospital."

"Yeah, I was about to do that." I went over and viciously shook his shoulder, "Wake the fuck up, We're going to the doctors!"

Ludwig glared at me before lifting Feli into a sitting position as he moaned from sleep.

"I'm gonna throw up." He whispered before actually throwing up all over the bed.

Ugh, I would have to deal with that when we got home. I went into his closet and grabbed his one pair of PJ bottoms and a tshirt as he often slept in the nude. I sent Ludwig away while I changed him. Ludwig had probably already seen him naked but I didn't want to think about that right now because there didn't need to be any more vomit on the bed than there already was. As I pulled his pants off, I noticed a nasty bite. What the fuck. It looked like a dog bite or some shit. Yeah we definitely needed to get him to the hospital. Feli didn't need rabies on top of a concussion. After I got Feli ready, Ludwig helped me get him into the car. Feli's movements were sluggish and he looked like he was going to faint at any second.

We took my Fiat this time since Ludwig had used most of his gas driving around all night. Ludwig climbed into the backseat with my brother and I heard them murmuring to each other as I pulled out of the parking lot of our apartment.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

I got a small giggle out of Feli before he started falling asleep again. He was acting more random than usual, proof of his head injury. I would let him sleep and wake him again in a bit. I remembered the time Gilbert had a concussion we woke him every two hours, so I figured Feli could get some rest before the doctor started messing with him. I gently kissed the top of his head and watched his sleeping face.

After a few moments of silence, I voiced a question that had lightly plagued me for a while.

"I wonder how Feli got home before Mathew when the car was much closer to Mathew's house."

"Easy, he probably ran home. If he was in the car when it happened, he panicked and raced home. That's probably why he looked like he was about to fucking die when he came in. You know one time the little bastard broke his fucking leg, his leg! And still managed to run home."

It did make sense. Whenever he saw a spider he would run away so fast, I could never catch him. It was fairly peaceful after that. Too peaceful. Feli was resting against my arm. He was so silent I couldn't even hear him breathe. Wait! Was he even breathing? I put my hand in front of his nose. I couldn't feel any air coming out.

"Pull over! He's not breathing!"

"What!"

Before Lovino had the car stopped, I'd unbuckled and pulled Feli into a supine position. I felt his wrist for a pulse and didn't feel any. Lovino was at the other side of the car with the door open checking his neck. I could tell the second he couldn't feel a pulse either. He started screaming at Feli and crying in Italian. From my awkward position, I started administering CPR while shouting at Lovino to call for help. I could feel tears dripping down my face as I compressed Feli's sternum. I tried to be gentle so as not to break a rib while counting 15 16 17. . . After 30 compressions, I gave 2 breaths while watching his chest rise and fall. I waited a second before starting the compressions again to see if he started breathing. Nothing. So I started again.

About 2 cycles through, Feli moved. I checked his wrist again for a pulse, still nothing. I must have imagined it. I pressed my hands back over the center of his chest to resume the compressions when Feli's eyes flickered open. Instead of their usual honey gold, they were clouded over as if he was in the final stages of Cataracts. Lovino made a noise of surprise that quickly turned to terror as Feli let loose a growl and tried to maim me.

"It's rabies! Holy fuck!" Lovino screamed so shrilly that he sounded almost exactly like his brother.

Lovino's screams distracted Feli enough for me to climb off of him and slam the car door shut. Lovino did the same from the other side. Lovino ran over to my side of the car, cellphone still clutched in his hand. We both watched Feli thrash around, trapped, inside the small car.

"Did you say rabies?" I finally asked turning to Lovino.

He had a horrified look on his face as he stared at the car. After I repeated the question, Lovino finally nodded.

"H-he had a nasty bite on his leg, I saw it earlier. I thought it looked like a dog bite. Feli's so fucking stupid, he'd try to mess with a dog even if it was snarling at him. I always used to joke that he'd catch rabies one day and look at him now. He's like fucking Cujo I can't believe this is happening I can't believe this is happening I can't believe this is happening-" I grabbed him and shook him to snap him out of it.

Feli did this sometimes when he was upset. He'd ramble on and on and eventually start repeating himself. Despite how different the brothers were in personality they were remarkably similar. Rabies? Really? I vaguely remember Gilbert and his friends making jokes about it. It was like a disease you got from bites that would make you bite anything that moved or something like that. I couldn't remember if they said it was curable or not. Oh Feli. It hurt seeing him thrash around like a wounded animal. I was drawn from my thoughts by a muffled female voice. Lovino heard it too and raised his phone back to his ear.

"Y-yes. I'm still here. He woke up but he's acting all crazy. He tried to bite us. We locked him in the car. Please help us."

It was odd hearing Lovino talk so politely without swears sprinkled into his language. I looked back to my poor boyfriend who had stopped his movements and now appeared as still as death. From his howls I could tell he still lived and each cry he made tore through my heart.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Those stupid nurses were being mean on purpose. I could tell. Every time I walked up to the desk to ask about Mattie, they'd shoo me away. They had to know something. What if Mattie got an acoma. What if he bled to death on the inside and swelled up like that blue girl on Willy Wonka, except not blue but red. Like a giant cherry instead of a blueberry.

I heard the phone at the desk go off and saw the desk lady pick it up. She looked upset and was making hand gestures as she talked. Something bad was happening. I hoped it wasn't about Mattie. Maybe her boyfriend called her at work and said something that pissed her off. After she hung up, she left her desk and walked over to the door and locked it.

AN: Fun fact: I gave Romano a Fiat before the update because it was the cheapest Italian car that came to mind. Now it's canon woot woot.


	4. Chapter 4

Band of Brothers ch. 4

Disclaimer: I'm glad I don't own Hetala because it would be absolute shit.

What the Frank was going on. Why did she lock the door? Did they have an escaped convict omg. None of the other 3 people in the ER, it was like 4 AM on a Tuesday, seemed to notice. As stealthily as possible, I snuck over to the desk.

"Why did you just lock the door?"

She glared at me like I was asking about Mattie again, which I wasn't so she could take a chill pill and get over herself.

"There is someone very sick being moved through the hospital and we don't want any of you to accidentally come in contact with them. It really is in your best interest that you stay put until I have an update for you."

"But what about Mattie? What if he gets sick? And you haven't told me how he is. I've been waiting for like a million hours. "

"I will let you know as soon as I find out now please sit down before I have you removed."

Rude. I shuffled back to my uncomfortable seat and tried to watch TV, occasionally sending glares towards her. I'd only been sitting for a few moments when the phone rang again. I focused in on the conversation this time. I obviously had no idea what the other person was saying but the lady's voice was loud enough for me to barely hear.

"Another one? Why do they all have bites? I know. I know. It's classified, but who am I gonna tell honestly."

What in Sam Hill. The government was involved?!

"Wait what? What!? He attacked them? He's contained though right? Some of the people in the waiting room are getting concerned."

Attack? Oh no. What about Mattie? Damn right I'm getting concerned all one of me is concerned. Asleep grandpa and the Mom with a sick 3 year old don't seem to care.

"There's another one! Is it an epidemic? Oh come on, I wanna know more. Please, I'm bored sitting up here."

That horrible woman. People were getting attacked and some scary disease thing was happening and she just wanted to gossip! The rest of her conversation was pretty mundane. It was obvious that she was talking to one of her friends because she was throwing mad shade about some of the other people that worked here.

I wanted to remove my brother from this hospital immediately. But wait. She'd said something about a bite and Mattie had a bite.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

The sound of sirens reached my ears several times, but they never got any closer. What was going on?! We'd waited at least an hour, and still no help. Feli's cries had ceased and I feared it was over, but Lovino tapped on the car window and agitated him again. This was perhaps the worst night of my life. I paced back in forth in worry. How long did Feli have before he suffered brain damage? Was this even curable?

"Sit the fuck down, you're doing nobody any good walking back and forth like that."

I sat down on the curb next to the car and Lovino. Feli's clouded eyes followed my movements from behind the glass but his thrashing had ceased again.

"Something has got to be wrong, they should be here by now." I muttered.

"I think this dog or whatever the hell it is getting around. The lady was like 'not another one' so maybe other people aren't as lucky as us."

"Yes! That must be it. We have Feli contained so perhaps they have more dire situations. I'm sure they'll be here soon."

Oh I really hoped so. Perhaps a specialist would be brought in. This had to be some kind of epidemic. I didn't really know much about rabies but no one I knew had ever had it, so it must be really rare. The infected animal was probably roaming the town, biting everything that moved. It'd probably seen Feli running home. What if it came here? I needed a weapon, just in case. A heavy branch would probably be enough to stun the dog or whatever it was.

I stood to walk under the small patch of trees nearby to try to find a sturdy branch.

"Where the fuck are you going?"

"What if whatever is biting people comes here? I'm look for something to defend us with."

"There's a gun in the glove box."

That made me pause. Lovino had a gun?! Did he even know how to use it? That would be a lot better than a branch. But what about Feli?

"But Feli is in there. We'd never be able to unlock the glove box to get to it before he bit one of us."

"Shit! You're right. Get a branch. A big macho potato like you probably has a good swing anyways. I swear to God, if you let that fucker bite me, I'll. . .I'll bite you first!"

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Ludwig was clutching that stick and walking back and forth in front of the tree line as if he expected a beast to burst forth and kill us both. It was pissing me off. I'd told him multiple times to sit the fuck down but he wouldn't listen. Every once in a while Feli would make a noise and start moving around again. When we were still, he'd get silent again.

I was just about to tell the bastard to sit down again when headlights shone down the road. Were they finally coming? About damn time. Wait. Where were the flashing lights? Whether it'd been an ambulance or a cop car, there should have been lights. A National Guard Humvee pulled in front of us and armed people climbed out.

"Where's the infected." One of them commanded.

"What's going on? Why are you here?" Ludwig answered first.

"We're here to handle the infected. Are they in the car?"

"Yes, he's in the back seat. What hospital are you taking him to? Can I ride with you?"

"We're not taking him to a hospital, sir. I'm sorry but it's too late for him. Your friend is already dead."

What the fuck. This was some X Files big brother shit right here. They were not laying a hand or a gun on my baby brother. I planted myself between the car door and one of the soldiers.

"Let us through before we make you."

"What gives you the fucking right to kill a sick person! Who the fuck do you think you are! You aren't getting anywhere near this car! Gonna shoot me?! Gonna shoot me, bitch?!"

Before I could react, I was tackled to the ground and tased. I think I blacked out for a few moments, because the next thing I heard was gun shots and the sound of skin hitting skin. I was shaken from my daze by Ludwig as he threw me over his shoulder and ran. I heard snarling and gun shots following behind us. I looked up to see Feli hot on our tail, practically frothing at the mouth.

AN: Eh, I'm passed midterms and all that. I'm actually writing this on fall break. I wish they'd given us all of fall break during Thanksgiving instead of giving us 2 days for Voting Day and then the other 3 for Thanksgiving. A whole week off would be better than 2 days is all I'm sayin.


	5. Chapter 5

A sudden scream woke me from the light nap I'd slipped into. It'd come from behind the locked door. Moments later the knob jiggled and pounding fists, followed by yells and screams from multiple people were heard. I leapt from my seat to help before being stopped by the desk lady.

"We have to open the door. They sound like they're in trouble."

"I was instructed to keep this door closed and locked no matter what I heard. We can't open this door."

"Hey! Open the door!"

"They're coming! Please!"

"Help us!"

"Several voice shouted all at once. The secretary lady put herself between me and the door and covered her ears with her hands. The screams grew louder from behind the door and soon the other people in the ER waiting room fled out the entrance. I was about to physically move the woman out of the way when I heard an animalistic growl.

There was the sound of footsteps fleeing but one fist still pounded. The growls grew louder and the pounding more frantic. I finally pulled the woman out of the way and placed my hand on the door knob but froze at the sound of pained wails from behind the door. The screams cut off abruptly and the sounds of wild animals ripping a person to pieces could be heard.

I released the knob and slowly backed away, giving the secretary a fear filled glance. She had her eyes closed and ears still covered, muttering something under her breath. The noises behind the door quieted down. I pressed my ear to the door and heard silence. I turned the lock and carefully cracked the door open. The remains of a corpse lay on the floor and bloody smears covered the floor and walls. There was no one or thing there besides the corpse.

There must be a pack of wild animals or something, but where were the cops and animal control? And why wouldn't the desk lady alert them of it? They needed to get out of here, but what about Mattie. I needed to find him. He was hurt. There was no way, he'd get out of here alive. I went over to the desk lady and removed her hands from her ears.

"Hey, listen to me. Listen to me! I'm going in there to find my brother. You can wait here or run away I guess. Just don't lock the door on me, I kinda need to get back out."

"No you can't! They'll tear you apart! The virus is spreading. The army should be here soon enough. They'll save us."

"The army? My brother could be in trouble now. I have to go get him."

I needed a weapon to fight off the animals. I looked around the room and didn't really see anything. It was pretty much chairs and tables. My eyes gravitated to something red. A fire extinguisher. I could bash something's head in or stun it with the spray. I pulled open the little door, I wasn't about to cut my hand all up when there was no one here to see how cool it looked when I punched through the glass, and removed the extinguisher. Surely an alarm had been tripped but honestly signaling the fire department might be helpful.

I took a deep breath before finally opening the door. I glanced left, right, and left again before stepping through the doorway. I had no idea what room Mattie was in but I'd search each of the rooms if I had to. I started moving when I heard the click of the door closing behind me.

O0o0o0o0o0

Adrenaline pumped through my veins. I barely felt the man slung over my shoulder as I ran as quickly as possible. I'm not a fast runner, at all, and Feli was sure to catch up to me soon. As were the soldiers in their trucks. But I had ran strait for the tree line, their trucks couldn't follow. Feli was still a problem. I could hear his growls and footsteps snapping branches as he chased me. I had to do something before he caught up. I leapt up to grab the lowest branch of a tree that appeared in my path. Still fueled by adrenaline, I lifted myself and Lovino up onto the branch with one arm. There was no way this small branch would hold both our weights. Before the branch could break, I placed Lovino higher up the tree and shouted for him to climb. We somehow made it up the tree without getting bitten. Feli circled the tree, mindlessly reaching and growling at us.

What now? We couldn't stay in this tree forever. It would only be a matter of time before they came after us on foot. They would kill Feli first chance. We were also in danger from Feli himself. He wouldn't stop trying to get us until something else came by, or at least I think that's how this works. Feli really needed help before there was permanent damage.

"So are we going to sit here and wait for bad shit to go down or are we going to try to get out of this?"

I was removed from my thoughts to see Lovino in another tree.

0o0o0o0o

Ludwig was just sitting there. We needed to start moving before those army bastards caught up. We had to keep Feli safe, even if he was currently a danger to us. I stood and carefully made my way as far as I could to the edge of the branch I'd been resting on. I couldn't quite reach the branch from the next tree but with a leap, I managed. I swung my legs up onto another branch before looking back to the other tree. That idiot hadn't moved an inch.

"So are we going to sit here and wait for bad shit to go down or are we going to try to get out of this?"

The potato looked up and did a double take when he noticed I was in the other tree. I rolled my eyes and motioned him over. We really needed to move. The army bastards probably had flashlights, walkie talkies, and tracking skills. Feli was watching our movements closely and was already at the base of the new tree. God, his eyes looked so fucking creepy. We needed to get him help after we got ourselves out of this.

We slowly made our way tree to tree until we could come up with a plan. More than once I had to almost break my arms trying to save that heavy block head when he snapped through tree limbs. He thought he was so cool being a giant muscle but look at him now. I grit my teeth as I clung to a trunk with all my strength. He had fallen again and this time grabbed my shirt. I was being halfway strangled as he pulled himself back up. My shirt was probably stretched all out now. He was lucky it wasn't Walmart trash or it would have torn.

We eventually came to the creek. There was no way I could leap across. We would have to back track and waste precious time. I was just about to say something when Ludwig snapped a large branch from the tree and threw it. Feli froze at the sound of the thump, then left from under us to go after it. Before I could react, I was being dragged from the tree and into the creek.

AN: I realized I've gone almost all of winter break without writing shit. I'm currently without Internet, so I'm writing to entertain myself. I hope everyone had nice holidays. Sorry if everything looks weird. I typed this on an app instead of in MS Word.

Edit: wow I'm really sorry to anyone who tried to read this chapter the first time I put it up. That stupid app messed up everything. I had to go through and delete a bunch of HTML mumbo jumbo.


	6. Chapter 6

"The water was dark as shit. Literally. It was basically black. Nothing could be seen under its nearly still surface and that's what scared me the most about it. The unknown. The unseen. The things that made horror movies so horrific. There could be anything in there. Fish, snakes, dead bodies, even the Creature from the Black Lagoon. And I was being dragged into it by that crazy ass potato. The water was cold at first, but I'd been in colder. My feet touched the nasty mucky bottom of the creek. Great, now my shoes were ruined too. The water only went up to just over my waist. It was the perfect depth for alligators and other creepy things.

I could hear Feli making his way back over to where we were. Would he get in the water? No. He stood on the shore watching. I wasn't sure if he could see us. Was his vision like that of a T-Rex? Only motion? I was afraid to test it.

"We should keep moving away. We can go up creek for a ways before it deepens. It's not cold out, we should be okay for a little while."

I agreed and followed. We walked against the currant, as weak as it was. Feli finally fell in after us and we froze in place. He didn't seem to be able to move as quickly as we were, so we decided to just keep an eye on him and continue. We trudged through the muddy creek occasionally looking back to make sure Feli was a decent distance behind. Every once in a while, I would feel something touch my leg and freak out. I tried not to make much noise, we did not want be found, but holy shit that was scary. More often than not it was a fallen tree or trash. My favorite was the entire bicycle I almost fell over. The sun was just starting to come up when Ludwig suddenly disappeared beneath the water.

0o0o0o

I wasn't sure if it was my muscles weakened from the strain of walking up stream or my core temperature decreasing, but it felt as if the water had grown colder and the currant faster. Perhaps the creek was about to deepen. And sure enough, it did. It was almost as if I'd stepped off a ledge. Suddenly, there was nothing beneath my feet. I sunk straight down for a few moments before I swam back up. Lovino immediately started hitting me and yelling.

"Why the fuck did you do that!? I thought something got you! I swear to God, fucker, if you try that shit again, I'll drown you!"

I heard the growling hiss that had become Feli's norm and saw him only a few feet away. I quickly pulled Lovino away from him and made my way to the shore. I helped Lovino climb up the tree roots and away from Feli. Now my problem was getting Feli out of the creek. Sure he could blindly walk after us in the water but who knew if he could swim like that.

"What are we going to do about Feli? He'll bite me if I reach for him."

"Fuck. Uh, lets see. He can't climb up this."

We watched as Feli waved his arms at us and growled. No, he wasn't climbing.

"But maybe he can get up the other side."

The other side was level and had a shore that sloped up more gradually. We back tracked a few yards behind the point we'd exited the creek and leapt back in. This time we ran up the shore and looked back to see what Feli would do. He slowly followed up the bank. He wasn't running like last night. It was more of a shuffle. Perhaps he'd grown tired. We'd seen nothing of the soldiers. Jumping in the water must have helped cover our tracks.

We were able to walk at a brisk pace and stay ahead of Feli. Finally away from immediate danger, I had time to wonder 'what next?' Did they have our names? Lovino left his car behind. Surely they ran his license plate number to find out who he was. We couldn't go back to their house. Could we go to my house? No, it was common knowledge that Feli and I were dating. They wouldn't even have to ask people. One look on Feli's public Facebook page would tell them everything. They would go to my house second. Growing up with a paranoid Vati had rubbed off on me. The man was sure that the government watched our house with satellites. Gilbert had always laughed at his crazy paranoid ideas, and sure some of it was a bit silly, but it might just be what saved us this morning.

The second someone official came over to our house, Vati would do anything he could to give them as little information as possible and get them out of house quickly. So I had no worries of him giving something away. I wracked my brain for a place we could hide out at. Wait. No one knew Gilbert was dating Mathew but his brother, Alfred. No one knew he was gay but Alfred and us. Gilbert didn't use his real name on Facebook either, so they wouldn't even see Mathew on his friends list. Alfred was probably still at the hospital. Mathew was injured in the accident, that's right. We could at least hide out there for a little while. See what's going on.

"We should go to Alfred and Mathew's. They won't be able to connect them to us. We can at least rest. Maybe lock Feli in the bathroom or something."

"Good I'm about to pass out."

It was settled then. I could see a road on the edge of the tree line. We couldn't be too far out. We exited the forest and walked until we came to a road sign to get our bearings. We weren't that far at all. Only a few miles from where my car was possibly still in a tree.

0o0o0o

There was no one in the halls. No one behind the desks. The only traces of life were the bloody footprints. I opened the first door to my right. Empty. It was an examination room similar to the ones where you get a check up. Perhaps for people who were sick and just needed to get a prescription. I passed several of those in a row on both sides before finally reaching a room with a bed. The door was wide open and the sheets half dragged off the bed as if the person had been in a hurry to leave. The next room was empty as well, although it looked fresh and pristine as if it were yet to be used. The next room had the door locked and the familiar sounds of growling from earlier emitted from behind it. Nope. That door could stay locked. I was shocked to almost vomiting at what I saw in the next room. It was a poor old lady with her entrails and throat ripped out. She was still in her bed with her eyes calmly closed. At least she died in her sleep. Poor thing. I lifted the sheet to cover her face and walked back to the door. I looked back after hearing a noise and had to hold back a scream.

The form beneath the sheet had risen to sitting. There was no way. As the sheet fell from its face, I saw its eyes filmed over and it's innards spilling forth. I quickly closed the door before I heard the growls from earlier. No way. No way! No freaking way! That was a zombie! Zombies were real?! That lady got eaten by zombies, so she came back. It was like the movies and games. I'd seen enough Walking Dead to know where this was going. Mattie had a bite. Mattie had a bite! He was going to turn. Omg this would be so cool if it weren't so bad. I needed to find him. Maybe he hadn't turned yet.

Looking in the rooms was getting me no where. He could be locked in one of those rooms I kept hearing the growls from. There must be some way they keep track of who is where. I'd passed a nurses station earlier. I went back to it and tried to find charts. There were a few on clip boards but none of them had his name. I looked up to see a list still up on a monitor. The nurse must have been entering some more data when everything happened. I found Mattie's name just above an incomplete entry. Besides the zombie apocalypse just starting, it was my lucky day.

I went quietly to the correct room. Now that I knew what was up, I used complete caution and all the stealth I'd seen in movies. The door was locked like the others. That wasn't good. I tapped lightly on the door to see what would happen. I heard a muffled crash from inside and held my breath. A minute later the door cracked open and I saw a woman I didn't know. Upon seeing I wasn't a zombie, she opened the door and pulled me inside. From her Betty Boop scrubs, I could tell she worked here. She clicked the lock back before turning to me.

"Are you here to save us?"

"I'm actually here for my brother but you can come too."

I scanned the room to see a doctor leaning over my brother. She was holding his wrist and looking at a watch. I rushed to Mattie's side. He wasn't dead yet. Maybe it wasn't a zombie that bit him.

"How's he doing?"

"His pulse hasn't decreased yet. He's still breathing. From when he got bitten, he could have a few minutes to a day. We don't know much about this."

Oh Mattie. He was going to become a zombie. At least I could still say my goodbyes. I gently shook his shoulder after asking the doctor for permission. It didn't work. After screaming in his ear, he finally woke up. I laughed at his surprised face before he glared at me. His glare was so weak I laughed even harder. He couldn't scare a kitten.

"How ya feelin Mattie?"

"Really bad. Where's Gil? And Feli?"

His voice was scratchy and weak and even quieter than usual but I could understand him.

"So you remember the accident?"

"Barely. I just remember being pushed out the door and then seeing the car in a tree. What happened?"

"Feli made it home fine and you came home and passed out at the door. Last I heard, they haven't found Gilbert. Do you remember being bitten?"

"Bitten? No. Are they looking for him. What do the police think?"

"I haven't heard. Mattie. You were bitten by a zombie."

"Alfred, I'm not in the mood for your games. Can you please call and find out if there's been any news?"

"This isn't a game, Mattie. I heard someone get eaten and I couldn't save them."

My voice cracked as I finished that sentence. Oh God I was gonna crying. Heroes weren't supposed to cry. Mattie looked over at the doctor for answers. She nodded, affirming what I said. The nurse was still at the door listening. She turned to us, making a shushing motion with her finger. We all grew silent and listened. Outside, the growling and shuffling of those things sounded. I looked back to Mattie. His eyes, wide with fear, met mine and I didn't know how to make it better. I could at least try. I grabbed him in a hug and squeezed tightly. This might be the last time I got to hug him so I held on for extra long.

"We need to get out of here."

"No, I wouldn't advise it. We have no idea how many are out there and your brother isn't in any shape to be moved quickly enough."

"We could always bust the window out. We're on the first floor."

"If that's the plan, then we should wait til morning. We would be able to see them coming better. Your brother can't run, he's too weak. We would stand a better chance in daylight."

What the doctor said made sense. We were safe, for now. We could wait. I sat down next to Mattie and to distract him from his impending doom, we told each other stories from our childhood. This would probably be my brother's last night alive. I didn't want to think about it but it was true. I tried to make him laugh as much as possible so he could go out with a smile.

AN: I'd like to give a shout out to my mom, who's the head "desk lady" in med surg at our town hospital. Doctors are often unorganized and its the desk ladies that keep that shit running smoothly. Inaccuracies are inaccurate. I haven't actually seen "the charts" but I know my mom complains about them.


	7. Chapter 7

I shivered in my wet clothes as I walked. The creek hadn't been one of my best ideas, but at least we escaped. I wonder if I should call Alfred first before going in his home. I pulled my phone from my pocket only to see a blank screen when I pressed buttons. I knew I should have invested in one of those water proof cases. It was useless now. I put it back in my pocket instead if tossing it in case the warranty was still valid.

"Does your phone still work?"

"It should; I left it in my car."

Well that was that. I focused back on the road ahead. We had finally reached suburbia and would be at our destination soon. The average looking houses lined each street, about the same distance from each other, like soldiers in formation. Something was off about it. From the position of sun I could tell it was around 8 or 9. There should be people leaving for work. There should still be cars in some of the drives. But all the cars were gone. There were no signs of life.

We reached Alfred and Mathew's home with ease. The door was left unlocked, Alfred probably forgot after all that happened. Feli had fallen behind and needed to be led to the house. Once he was almost there, we stood on either side of the door, I tossed a dirty plate into the bathroom. Feli lunged after the movement and was locked up safely. Of course Alfred would leave his dirty dishes about. Mathew complained about him often enough. I had this sudden desire to clean and, after changing into some of Alfred's larger clothes, that's what I did.

0o0o0o0o

I checked the clock in Mathew's room as I changed into some of his clothes. It was almost 9:30. I missed my first class, fuck! Well there was no way I was going to my other class today either. I would just sleep through the damn thing if I was able to somehow make it on campus by 10:30 without a car.

Mathew wasn't nearly as beefy as his brother but he was still much taller than me so I had to roll up the legs of the pants and sleeves of the flannel shirt. I swear his closet looked like it belonged to a Winchester. At least I didn't have to wear one of Alfred's awful superhero tshirts like Ludwig. The unlucky potato bastard was walking around in a practically skin tight Batman shirt. He looked like a tool. I handed him my dirty clothes to wash as he seemed to have gone into house wife mode. He did it all the time when he came over. Feli would leave a huge mess in the kitchen every time he cooked and that fool would clean it up for him. Speaking of my brother, he'd grown quiet in the bathroom again. I pulled the edge of the plate I'd shoved under the door earlier to try and feed him to see most of the food gone. Most of the plate was gone too.

I walked into the living room and saw a phone on a side table. They still had a house phone? It was a fucking dinosaur, with its gross yellowed curly cord and giant square buttons. I picked it up. There was a dial tone. I didn't know who to call. My brother was locked in a bathroom out of his mind. My Nonno wouldn't answer a strange number. I couldn't call Bella, she still hated me. I suddenly realized how fucking pathetic my life had become. I had no friends besides my little brother.

"Does it work?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah, it does."

"I need to call my boss. I doubt I'll make it in today."

I rested on the couch while he used the phone. It was crazy how just a few hours ago I was resting on my own couch and everything was normal. I'd almost fallen asleep when I heard a curse.

"No one will answer. I tried 3 times. It rang before it went to voicemail so I know his phone is on."

"He's a heartless bastard if he gets mad at you for not showing up. The world's gone to hell. Fuck him."

"I doubt I'll get fired and you're right, he'll understand when I explain everything to him. I think I'll try to call Alfred now."

0o0o0o0o0o

I woke to the sound of the Ninja Turtles theme. It was a call from the house phone. Why would Mattie call me instead of just knocking on my door? I pulled my phone from my pocket, weird I was still wearing jeans, and answered while yawning.

"Hullo?"

"Good morning. Are you still at the hospital? How is Mathew?"

Huh? Ludwig? Why was he at my house? I looked around. Oh yeah I was at the hospital. Everyone seemed to have dozed off. Mattie was resting too and from the rise and fall of his chest, I could tell he hadn't turned yet.

"Yeah, I'm still at the hospital. I fell asleep. Mattie's still hanging on. Did you ever find Gilbert?"

"That's good. And no we didn't. Lovino and I are at your house. Feli suddenly went deranged and well it's a long story."

"Oh no poor Feli, he turned? I'm really sorry. After we escape, we'll come there."

"Wait. What?"

"Turned into a zombie. It sounds like he got bitten. Mattie's still breathing but it-it's only a matter of time before he turns too. Me and Mattie and some hospital people are locked in his room so the zombies won't eat us, but we're leaving soon."

"You do realize this isn't a video game."

"Duh, if you weren't calling from my house I'd take a picture and send it to you as proof. I know what I'm about."

"Whatever you say. Let us know when you are on your way."

Ludwig could be a poopy head sometimes. How could he not believe in zombies when Feli tried to eat him. I wondered what they did with him after he turned. They would have mentioned it if they took him out. And on that note, what would I do with Mattie when he turned? Could I take him out? I guess I'd figure it out when it got to that.

I woke everyone else up since the sun was up real good. The nurse was a bit mad because Mattie could have eaten us all while we slept if he died. The doctor checked Mattie's vitals as he woke. He was weaker than a few hours ago. I tried not to think about it. I needed to figure out how to break the window out. It looked pretty thick. Me and the nurse both picked up chairs and bashed at the window. The window started cracking but the chairs felt apart before it could break. I looked around for something heavy to beat it with but didn't see anything that wasn't bolted down.

"I bet the bed would break it."

Mattie what? I turned and looked at him like he was cray. The nurse seemed to agree with him and was already unlocking the wheels on the bed. I scurried over and helped the doctor move Mattie into the one remaining chair. He felt really hot but I didn't say anything. His body was fighting and losing to the zombie virus. Wasting words commenting on it wouldn't help any thing. I helped the nurse prop the one end of the bed up against the glass. The ledge was a little under a foot wide. It would have been a good place to perch during a casual visit. That meant we didn't have a lot of ramming room.

We pulled the bed back as much as we could without the wheels falling and then smashed forward. The cracks in the window spread but it still stood. The noise of our escape attempts attracted the zombie pack. I could hear them clawing and growling at the door. We quickly pulled the bed back again and pushed. No good. Again. Part of the window finally fell out. There were glass chunks still dripping as we grabbed spare sheets out the cabinet and covered the sharp glass that clung to the windowsill.

I helped the women out the window and went back for Mattie. He tried to walk but couldn't, so I lifted him into a princess carry. I would have made mad fun of him but there wasn't time. I passed him through the window to the women just below before vaulting over the side as if hopping a fence. We were free from the building, but we still had to make it across town. I prayed that Mattie made it.


	8. Chapter 8

Mattie was the same height as me but he'd always been a beanpole, all skinny and tall. At first carrying him wasn't that difficult but as the minutes passed he seemed to grow heavier in my arms. I wish we stole a wheelchair before we left the hospital but we were too busy avoiding the zombies shuffling around the hospital parking lot. There weren't too many and they weren't going very fast but from all the hours of zombie content I'd consumed over the years I knew getting surrounded by them was easy and fatal. Never underestimate that slow shuffle.

We were about a mile from the hospital now and just getting into town really good. At the sight of a dollar store, the nurse fetched me a shopping buggy to rest Mattie in. I was about to suggest, she grab me a coke and some Doritos too but we'd agreed that it was too soon for looting. We didn't know if the army contained the zombie virus or not. It would be bad to start stealing if the government was about to clear all this up in a few days. I went through multiple possible scenarios in my head as we walked in silence. Every once in a while we would see a pack of zombies shuffling and we would duck behind a building and wait for it to pass. Despite not wanting to loot, we really needed weapons. I kept my eyes out for a place that sold anything we could use even though the others clearly didn't want to start stealing.

I thought it was weird how empty our town had become. Sure it was technically a tiny city, if you could even call it a city, but there should have been more people if not more zombies. It gave me a bit of hope that the government had swiftly dealt with the problem and evacuated but in all the video games and shows that never happened. I spotted another dollar store. It seemed like them things were popping up on every block these days. I couldn't really complain though. Where else could I get cake mix, Mountain Dew, a DVD player, a decorative wall fixture, and horse shampoo all at the same place but less than half a mile from where I happened to be any moment I was anywhere. Nowhere unless I lived next to Walmart. Unlike Walmart, dollar stores didn't carry guns and bows and arrows but they did have some sports stuff. It would also be cheaper to reimburse everything we'd stolen too.

"I'm gonna steal me a bat. You dudes can stay out here."

"Alfred, no. I thought we said no stealing."

"I'll only get a bat Mattie, I can pay it back after this. We keep having close calls. What if they surround us huh?"

"If you're getting something, I'm getting something."

The nurse followed me into the store while the doctor stayed outside with Mattie. It took me a few minutes to find the sports stuff. These places always had similar layouts, but I'd never been in this one before. They didn't have aluminum bats unfortunately, but a kids wooden bat would be okay I guess. Walking through the next aisle I got an idea. It was the home improvement aisle. I spotted hammers and boxes of nails and after about five minutes of working, my bat was much more dangerous. I could pierce skulls with this baby. I heard the nurse in the back. She'd gone behind the "employees only" door . I wandered over to see if she needed help only to see her walk out triumphantly with a shot gun.

"It was in the managers desk." She explained.

We left the dollar store to show the other half of our party our spoils. No looting rule gone to the wind, I handed Mattie a bag of Chex-mix and a coke so he could keep his strength up. All the color had fled his face and he almost looked like a zombie already. It wouldn't be long now. I put on the sunglasses I'd filched before handing out the other pairs. We officially looked badass, Betty Boop scrubs aside.

I spotted an old basic white Mitsubishi parked outside of the liqueur store. I didn't know how to steal a car but we could at least look at it. There weren't any zombies in the parking lot so we had time. I peered in the window only to jump back as a zombie clawed at me from inside. From the other window, the doctor could see the keys in the ignition. The nurse loaded the gun and instructed me to open the door when she gave the signal. I opened the door and covered my ears as I heard a deafening boom. Movies and games hadn't prepared me for how loud guns actually were. I looked back to see the white car stained a dull brown red. Some of the zombie guts were sprayed across the upholstery, making it smell hella nasty. Zombies were shuffling from all directions following the noise of the gun, so we didn't have time to do anything about it. At least we didn't have to walk any more. I climbed into the back seat with Mattie as the nurse drove off. I didn't know how to drive a stick. It finally hit me how real this all was. This wasn't a game or a movie. This was my real life. I was grateful for the sunglasses that hid my eyes from the others as I silently cried a few tears.

0o0o0o

I ran a load of dishes, washed our clothes, swept, mopped, vacuumed, and I was currently wiping down the counters. Cleaning always calmed me. Lovino slept on the couch in the other room. I should get some sleep. But I had too much energy. I was running out of things to clean. I couldn't clean the bathroom with Feli in it and it would be rude to clean someone else's room without their permission. Alfred's room would probably take me over an hour at least. When I went in there to find clothing earlier, I almost didn't go in because of the stench. A thick layer of dirty clothes lined the floor and old takeout boxes and dishes stacked across most of the surfaces. In the corner there was actually some kind of structure built from identical takeout boxes from the same Chinese restaurant. The only clean area was the path to and from the computer desk. I was just about to walk back there and clean it anyway when I heard the front door open.

Alfred and two women in scrubs carried Mathew into the house. After waking Lovino, they rested Mathew on the couch and Alfred went into the kitchen to pour them all some drinks. Mathew looked pale and sickly, his veins easily visible through his translucent skin. I helped Alfred carry cups back into the living room and watched the woman with a white lab coat check Mathews vitals. Why did they take such a sick person from the hospital? I wasn't sure what was wrong with Mathew, last night Alfred hadn't been very specific in his panic. Alfred couldn't have been serious about "escaping" from the hospital could he?

"Well, I guess this is it. You sure you don't want something to eat or for the road?"

"No, we'll manage. Thank you."

"Thanks for helping Mattie. It was fun escaping with you miss um-"

"Lizzie is fine and this is Angie."

"I've been calling you Nurse Betty in my head all morning! I'm Alfred."

Alfred shook hands with both of the women as if they were meeting each other for the first time. I found it odd. Usually introductions were held when people first met, not after they were together for a couple of hours. After Alfred showed the women to the door, he turned and gave us a weak wave.

"Please explain what is going on."

"It's nice to see you too, Ludwig. We just fought our way through a window and zombies to get here, no biggie. You?"

Really? He was still going with that ridiculous story. I wasn't paying attention when Lovino started summarizing some of the events of our night. He ended by tapping the bathroom door to let Alfred hear Feli inside.

"Aw man! I wanted a shower. Why did you bring a zombie in the house?!"

"What the fuck are you talking about?! This isn't one of your fucking video games! Earth to Alfred, this is the real world where fairy tales don't happen. It's rabies."

"Lets see. Dying, coming back to life, and trying to eat people. That sounds like all the signs of a zombie to me."

So I wouldn't physically harm Alfred, I started hand washing the cups that had just been dirtied. How could we make an idiot like him listen to reason?

0o0o0o

Alfred is so fucking stupid. I wanted to punch him in the face but I knew he would hurt me much worse if he returned it. I could see Ludwig trembling with rage as he turned and gripped the sink tight enough to make his knuckles white before he started washing some dishes. I guess I would have to deal with this. I followed Alfred into the living room.

"What the fuck do you know about anything?! Feli told me that Mathew told him that you dropped out of school to play video games. More like couldn't handle reality."

"That's not true! I took time off because I wanted to work on myself! Don't bring me into this. Your brother is a zombie. I bet if we cut his arm off, he wouldn't even notice!"

"Wanted to work on yourself?! Can you hear yourself right now?! And don't you fucking dare try to hurt my brother. We need to be focusing on a way to get him help. To get your own brother help."

"Guys."

"There's no way to help them! It's too soon in this scenario for there to be a vaccine or a cure. The military is either still in contain and destroy mode or they've failed and fallen."

"Guys, hey look."

"Fucking really?! You're going to say that right in front of your own brother. That you've given up on him. Look at him!"

We both paused to look only to see Mathew weakly pointing toward the TV. The emergency news broadcast was looping and telling people to evacuate due to a gas leak. A gas leak? That explained why we hadn't seen other people.

"So that's what they're calling it. A gas leak. More like zombie leak."

"Did someone say gas leak?" Ludwig peered around the corner with a glass and a cloth in his hand, still drying it as he spoke.

"Yeah, the towns been evacuated. It's the zombies though. They had to make up a reason to get people to leave."

"People would have laughed it off if they were like 'warning zombies', we should leave too."

"They'll never let you through a barricade, Mattie. One look and they'll be able to tell you're infected."

"You're right, you're right. I-I'll stay here with Feli until, well, you know."

Mathew was spewing all that zombie nonsense too?! He was the smarter and more sane of the two. What had they seen that made even Mathew start with the zombie talk?

"We'll still be here when it happens. I won't leave you alone. Besides, I don't know about them but, I barely got any sleep."

Alfred pressed the center of his open palm to Mathew's forehead as he crouched at eye level in front of him. Ludwig and I exchanged bewildered expressions. Maybe it was his injuries that were causing Mathew to believe he'd seen zombies. A person with rabies probably did resemble a zombie the way they mindlessly attacked. There was no fucking way my brother was a zombie. He was acting docile now that he was locked up in the bathroom. I should really look up what to do about him. How long before permanent damage. What medicine I needed to go find.

"Hey, idiot, do you have a computer or something?"

Alfred actually turned when I called him an idiot. He blinked at me for a second before getting up and leading me to his room. He stopped me when I tried to enter.

"Wait out here for a sec. Don't want you seeing my passwords."

I tapped my foot impatiently. It was taking longer than it should have to type in a few passwords. He was probably clearing his browser history and deleting his porn. When he finally let me in, he already had the web browser opened and ready for me. He gave me some space but didn't leave the room. Wow there must be some nasty shit hidden on this thing. I almost didn't want to touch the keyboard in case it was covered in dry cum from him jackin off. The keyboard looked almost new it was so clean. That's probably why it took him so long to let me in. Had to hide the proof that he was as pathetic as I thought he was.

I ignored him and pulled up a search engine. I typed in "rabies symptoms and treatments" and hit enter. I could hear Alfred scoff at my search and mumble something about zombies. What I read made a lump grow in my throat. No it had to be wrong. This piece of shit website wasn't even accredited. I kept hitting the back button and opening other websites trying to find one that gave me the answers I wanted, but all of them had the same thing. One piece of information kept rearing its ugly head.

After symptoms started there was nothing that could be done for the infected person or animal besides kill them.

I remembered the last words Feli said before he walked out the door yesterday. Before all of this started. They were typical and something only he would say. He was running late to go meet his friends for lunch, leaving me behind as usual. I didn't want to hang out with those lame fuckers. I had a class soon anyway. Feli said, with his usual dopey smile as he walked through the door, "I hope there'll be pasta."

That's what he fucking said! I'm not making it up. From what the articles and the angry soldiers last night said, Feli wasn't there anymore. His brain had been damaged beyond repair from the infection and the only lobes of his brain still functioning were the ones that controlled instincts. My baby brother was no better than dead. My eyes were starting to blur as I read another piece of information, my fingers trembling on the scroll wheel of the mouse.

Symptoms took between a week to several months to start occurring after being exposed to bodily fluids of an infected animal.

Feli's bite was fresh. Only a day ago. Unless he'd gotten into another fight with a cat over a piece of pizza off of the ground, Feli had no other chances to come into contact with an infected animal. Maybe it wasn't rabies! I couldn't accept Alfred's zombies theory. It had to be some other disease. I couldn't give up on Feli. No matter what this was, I knew the clock was ticking. I needed to find something to give him. Antibiotics. There had to be something. There had to be-the computer blinked off with a click before I was thrown into darkness.

"The power's out! The grid's down! Society's collapsed!"


	9. Chapter 9

"What the fuck!" Lovino shrieked from the computer.

This was my time to shine. From my many many hours of zombie experience I knew there could only be two possibilities for what had happened. Well three but whatevs. Anyways, we needed to get the heck out of dodge. I turned on the flashlight on my phone, couldn't believe it wasn't dead yet, and got to work. I grabbed my old dusty bookbag from the doorknob of my closet and dumped about $500 worth of textbooks on the floor. I then started shoving my most prized possessions in as well as a change of clothes. Couldn't forget my machete I kept under my mattress. We also needed water and some food.

"Hey, idiot, what are you doing over there?"

"Packing duh. We gotta leave."

I opened my bedroom door and followed the light from the windows into the kitchen. I opened the dark fridge to grab some of Mattie's waters. There wasn't much room left in my bag but I managed to shove a few in. We'd need another bag, maybe two.

"Somebody go in Mattie's room and get his bookbag." I called out behind me.

I nodded my thanks to Ludwig when he handed me the bag a few minutes later. I dumped out the contents and started packing the cans I had already chosen from the cabinets. I dug through the random stuff drawer and found our backup can opener we only used when our electric one burned out and we were too broke/lazy to get another for a while. I heard someone clearing their throat behind me as I packed the rest of the waters.

"What is going on, Alfred?"

"The power's out. We gotta go."

"I see that, but why."

I turned to face Ludwig and Lovino who were both watching me. I handed the heavier bag to Ludwig. The bag would probably kill Lovino. We relocated to the living room so that Mattie wouldn't feel left out. I sat on the arm of the couch and grabbed my brother's hand. It was cold and clammy.

"The power being out means 3 things. First possibility, and hopefully what happened, is someone tried to escape zombies and crashed into a light pole. Second possibility, and the most dangerous for us, the government has saved enough people to be satisfied and are about to light this place up. Last possibility, well, the zombies won. Welcome to the United States of Zombies."

0o0o00o0o00o00o0o

Alfred is fucking insane. But he has a point. We do need to get out of here. Especially if there's a gas leak. But what about Feli. And Mattie. It would be very difficult to travel with them. But we couldn't leave them. I was an asshole but not that big of one.

"What are we doing with our brothers huh? We can't leave them here."

"You're right. I can't just leave Mattie a zombie. We'll take care of Feli now and Mattie later when the time comes."

"What are you talking about?! Are you seriously this insane?"

"Alfred, why don't you ask Mattie what he wants?"

Don't tell me Ludwig was going with this nonsense. Alfred turned to his brother.

"Mattie, what do you want me to do?"

"Leave me." He replied weakly.

"I don't want to leave you alone like this."

"You need to leave now. Come back if you can once everything is safe."

Alfred hugged his brother tightly for a moment before standing and collecting his bag.

"Let's go."

"Wait a minute shit stain, we are not leaving them here." He was insane if he thought we were going to just abandon them. They really could die with no one here to help them.

"I know you don't believe me about the zombies but you have to be blind and stupid to believe something isn't going on here. Mat's a goner. So is Feli. I hate it but we have to go."

I turned to Ludwig for support. This was un-fucking-believable.

"He is right. We need to regroup and find out what is happening."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Lovino trembled with anger. He was seconds from lashing at myself or Alfred. I was much larger and stronger so I knew I could subdue him easily, but I hoped it wouldn't have to come to that. I knew no other words to say to convince him to leave Feli behind. I knew what he was feeling. I was feeling it too. I didn't want to leave Feli either. Feli was my other half. I would die for him. But what could I do? In the state he was in it was safer for him to be contained.

We would do as Mattie said. Go see what was really going on and come back when it was safe. When we knew of a way to help them. We wouldn't be gone for more than a day. Two tops.

An: I've been gone a while. Been going through some stuff with school. It's been difficult. And before anyone points out how likely it is for a guy to keep a machete under his bed, my brother keeps one under his mattress that he bought as a minor at the flea market. They are very easy to get.


	10. Chapter 10

We weren't far from the house when we saw our first zombie. It was shuffling around in Miss Kingston's yard. It was facing the other way and hadn't seen us yet. I pulled out my machete and got ready.

"Hey Lady! Do you need any help?!"

"Shut up, dude!"

Now she noticed us. Her front was drenched in old blood from a bite mark on her neck. It was Miss Kingston. Oh dang. Time to go.

She wasn't moving very quickly but from the way Lovino and Ludwig seemed frozen in place, she'd definitely catch up.

"Come on, dudes! She's going to eat you!"

They looked at me then back at her. She started growling as she got closer. And that's what got them moving. We didn't have to run to get away but definitely had to power walk. Once safely out of her reach we slowed back down. She was still following us though. I could hear her.

We figured that if the town was quarantined that all the exit roads would be blockaded and have military personnel. If we could just get to the backroad going out of town, we'd find out what was going on.

"So we're going back to where we left my car?"

"I would assume, it wasn't far from the Highway. It would certainly make things quicker. Do you still have the keys?"

"I left them in the ignition. And we left all the doors open. Unless those fuckers took it." Lovino patted his pockets to double check.

"So nobody wants to talk about the zombie following us?"

"Alfred stop, she's sick with whatever Feli has."

"So her ripped out throat doesn't bother you."

"That can't all be her blood."

"Does blood from someone else spray down like that from the neck." I pointed out how the blood literally sprayed downward from the neck. Like omg come on now. How in denial could they be?

Ludwig looked pale and Lovino still had his arms crossed. Why can't they just believe in zombies? Like there was one right there trying to eat us. And Feli was apparently a zombie all night. What if we got swarmed with zombies? Would they just stand there and be like "Are you okay, ma'am?" "Do you need help, sir?"

0o0o0o0o0o0o

I could see my car. I was amazed it was still there. If I was a looter, I would have grabbed that thing immediately.

"Do you think the battery's dead?"

"No, new cars have a timer and turn off after 10 minutes."

Which I'm sure that tasteless idiot has never had. He seemed like the rusty old pickup truck type. I could see smoke coming from near the car. Please don't be my car on fire. It wasn't my car but a dead body on the ground. It was one of the army men from earlier. As we approached the body moved and the army guy reached for us. Before anyone else could say anything, Alfred smashed the poor fucker's head in.

"What the fuck was that for?!"

"Even if you don't believe in zombies, you have to agree that guy was a goner."

I looked to Ludwig for help. This was unbelievable. We could have put the guy out and gotten him to help. But Ludwig wasn't looking at me. He was behind the wheel of my car turning the engine.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

I could no longer deny Alfred's claims. That woman following us and the burning man on the ground couldn't possibly still be alive. Or at least not in the way we were alive. I didn't want to consider what this mean for Feli and Mathew. I climbed behind the wheel and turned the key to see if the battery and everything were okay. It cranked just like it had last night.

"Let's go."

I expected Lovino to put up a fight over who got to drive but he just climbed in passenger seat. He was still shaken from what Alfred had done with that bat of his. I did a U-turn in the road and headed back toward Lovino and Feli's apartment and toward the small road out of town. The quicker we got out of here the better.

It wasn't until we passed the town limits sign that we saw anything. A single Humvee was parked on the side of the road. We pulled over and Alfred ran over to peer in the windows. When he returned to the car, his expression was grim.

"They shouldn't have fallen this soon. It's worse than I thought."

"What do you think we should do? Go back?"

"Not yet. We need to keep going for a little bit. The blockade could be further down. There's no way the zombies have won this soon."

It was going to get dark soon. We hadn't seen many of these zombies yet but it would be much more difficult to see them coming in the dark. We could easily get surrounded.

"Should we stop somewhere to camp out?"

"Why? The car has plenty of gas no thanks to you. I swear I've never seen someone ride the pedals so hard."

Lovino spoke for the first time in an hour. I was going to explain my reasoning but Alfred beat me to it.

"The infected could surround us without us seeing until it's too late. I don't think you want Ludwig to have to plow through them in your car."

"We can stop then."

"Hey, there's a motel coming up. We could get a second floor room."

"You mean the Patriot Inn? That place is nasty! Have you seen how many drug dealers and hookers live there?!"

It would have to do. I pulled off the road into the parking lot. The sign was still turned on. It had several of the infected underneath it reaching for the light. The movement and sound of us pulling up caused several to start shuffling our way. We quickly went into the office only to see no one there.

"Good, it's abandoned. Quick! Let's grab all the level 2 keys."

There were only 5 keys so it wasn't much of a task. Alfred grabbed them and we went back outside. We made our way to the stairwell closest to the car. Some of the zombies were only a few yards away. Could they climb stairs?

"We need to block the stairwell."

I climbed back in the car and pulled it right up to the railing. We hopped over the hood and up the stairs a ways before turning around. The zombies that had gotten to the car reached for us but couldn't get over the car.

"If you scratched my paint, I'm gonna kick your ass."

"Do we need to block the other one?"

We spent the rest of our daylight blocking the other stairs with a couch from one of the rooms. Once that was completed, we picked the room closest to the middle that we could get into. Alfred agreed to take first watch. The sun had just finished going down when Alfred yelled.

"Guys! Come look at this!"

We walked over to the window to stare over the balcony and see the infected below running like wild dogs after a deer.

AN: I've been struggling with this chapter for weeks. I haven't been in a zombie mood. I blame the uncertainty of whether or not Glenn's alive. The memes people have been creating about it have been funny though.


End file.
